1. Field
This invention pertains to rowed watercraft by facilitating direct arm-and-leg production of forward-facing rowing.
2. Prior Art
The invention disclosed herein improves U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,913 issued Nov. 16, 2004 to Tracy Don Witham. The Summary of Witham's 2004 patent states: “With a recumbent seat positioned relative to handle-and-pedal assemblies directly attached to oars in such a way that a rower can produce maximum power for rowing a watercraft, the present invention facilitates direct arm-and-leg tandem production of forward-facing rowing.” But the Background to Witham's 2004 patent acknowledges a problem the invention faces: “downward motion of the attached oar pedal [which goes through substantially the same motion as the oar handle, but in a lower position] which [is] needed to swing the oar blade out of the water in the recovery phase of the rowing motion, would be blocked by the hull floor, unless the boat seat were raised, in which case [a small rowed] boat would become unstable . . . ” For that reason the patent drawings for Witham's 2004 invention show it mounted on a catamaran whereby the pedals can swing between the two hulls, rather than into a hull floor. That limits the invention's marketability, since potential customers are likely to need catamaran hulls to use with the invention. Beyond adding a cost burden to potential customers of Witham's 2004 invention, pairing it with a suitable catamaran creates a large retail footprint, thereby creating a disincentive for retailers to stock the invention. Therefore, eliminating the reason making it necessary for a rower to move the pedals down for the recovery phase of the rowing motion constitutes an important improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,913.